Disc drives include delicate mechanical components that can be damaged by shock if a disc drive is dropped on a hard surface or object during manufacturing, testing or installing the disc drive in a computer. In particular, disc drives include read/write heads that are mounted on delicate mechanical suspensions to access disc surfaces. When there is mechanical shock or vibration, the read/write heads can bounce on the disc surfaces. The bouncing can damage the disc surfaces, the read/write heads or both.
Many disc drives include side rails that protrude from a bottom side of a disc drive housing. It is found that damage to discs or heads from a head slap event is often traceable to shocks that occur when a rail impacts a hard surface. The head temporarily separates from the disc and then slaps back on the disc.
A method and apparatus are needed to reduce head slap or other damage to mechanical components in a housing with side rails when the side rails impact a hard surface. Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.